…but apparently, Congress has lost its goddamned mind.
First of all, let me point out that when George Bush was Governor of Texas, he signed into law a bill that allows hospitals to unplug patients in a vegetative state if no one can pay the bill and there’s no hope for recovery. George Bush, leader of the Republican Party for which the Terry Schiavo case is a widely proclaimed “matter of principle”.
Secondly, Tom DeLay has been quarterbacking this highly charged moral issue, all the while making character attacks on Terry Schiavo’s husband. Tom DeLay, thrice spanked by the House Ethics Committee and what should be a hair’s breadth from fending off criminal charges.
Third, the bill itself is a truly bipartisan effort, and I cannot believe the lengths to which Senate Democrats have gone to fail so stupendously. The Washington Post snagged a memo to Senate Republicans concerning the bill:
This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue,” said the memo, which was reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. “This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats.
I would like to single out a Senate Democrat to righteously wail on about voting in favor of this bill, but I can’t, because the vote was unanimous. There were seven initial holdouts for the Dems, but simply holding out for concessions shouldn’t have been an option. To top it off, when DeLay was forcing the issue of blame on Senate Democrats if the bill didn’t pass, Fearless Leader Harry Reid passed the buck on Thursday:
I am pleased Senator Frist and I were able to pass the bill that protects the life of Terri Schiavo by allowing her parents to go to federal court. If the House Republicans refuse to pass our bipartisan bill, they bear responsibility for the consequences.
Way to go, you retard! You are learning well! By attempting to take the moral high ground on an issue that is abjectly absurd to begin with, you totally gave all claims to morality to the Republicans. To the GOP, a party with a membership that regularly writes off wartime civilian innocent deaths as acceptable collateral damage. Tom DeLay spewed forth the idea that if what was being done to Terry Schiavo by her husband was being done to a dog, it would be illegal. He made no mention of what the legality would be if it were being done to an Iraqi child.
So, we have the absolute failure of the Democratic Party to manage the national agenda, policy or otherwise. This isn’t necessarily difficult to understand, owing to the massive powers of agenda control that rest with the office of the President, regardless of who inhibits that office. That isn’t to say they couldn’t have fought harder, but fear of political retribution replaced the legislative brains of these fools and this is what we’re left with. The true, best part of this whole mess, however, the real punchline, is the legal implication of this travesty of a bill.
First of all, the GOP calling the bill a bipartisan compromise could very well be an attempt at pre-emptive damage control – they have successfully exerted federal power in the matter of the wholesale control and determinance of the fate of an individual citizen. Bush may feel like American families are better at investing their money than the US Government, but apparently American families are ill-equipped to make medical decisions on behalf of loved ones. This should go far in showing classic conservatives where the priorities of the GOP lay: they are no longer afraid to increase the power of government over the individual, and they are willing to go to any lengths, even calling a BRAIN DEAD WOMAN TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS, to assert those powers.
Additionally, I as usual take issue with the language of the bill because issue must be taken: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but states rights are under attack. By way of the inclusion of the phrase “de novo,” this bill is sending a clear message: we get a do-over. This is a case that’s been fully and formally litigated in the Florida state courts, and Congress didn’t like what they came up with. So, in effect, they are going to wholly disregard any and all decisions made on the issue by Florida courts and are just going to ;askjhdasdt[[[[[[[[[[[[
I’m sorry, I think I was having a tiny stroke.
Social Security reform is dead. Bush’s numbers are in the dumper. The GOP’s salt-of-the-earth base did not react with the election year outrage about the gay marriage upheavals last week. Memos are already circulating addressing the RNC’s concerns about losing seats in the mid-terms. Since their against-all-odds victories in November the NeoCon Funhogs have been getting trounced left and right, foreign and domestic.
Suddenly, an issue that’s been going on FOR YEARS in Florida rears its head and DeLay latches on like a rabid wolverine, without any apologies for not being around before. They can push their Culture-Of-Life hogwash to the extreme and because DeLay and the ProLifers have charged the language with such emotional context, they can totally disregard the normal, Old Tyme Conservative bent about the government staying out of the lives of the little people.
As a husband, I can’t imagine the hell Michael Schiavo is living in. Nor can I imagine how any good conservative can stomach the idea of Bush, first Governor Jeb and then President George, throwing their weight around to overturn the decisions of 19 Florida judges, all of whom have sided with Michael Schiavo. What about the Rule Of Law? What about the GOP’s rank and file derision of the Democrat’s polticization of issues? What about state’s rights? What about, dare I say it, the little-mentioned concept of human dignity?
Congratulations, America. This is what you voted for. Its often said that In a democracy, people get the kind of government they deserve. In this case, we’re getting a government that gives us what it thinks we deserve, whether we like it or not.
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